Doing up House advice.

[martin_b]

Gents,

My Mother in Law has gone into full time care so we now have to dispose of her house. Its a typical 70's detached house thats been home to two 90 year olds. Its sound, but shabby. My late FIL, thought of him self as a handyhand so he's done things like put in extra power scockets, wood paneling etc, but all that work was done a minimum of 20years ago.

So my question is.. Generaly does the panel think it makes financial sence to pay for a Sparky, decorator, and maybe other trades to come in before we put the house on the Market, or sell it as is as a project?

cheers

Martin

 

[Defender 130]

The answer to that will come from an estate agent, whats it's worth as is, and whats it's worth done up

If the done up price is significantly higher to account for the cost, hassle and time delay involved in getting it on the market and out to potential buyers then spend money on it, if not get it on the market straight away with no hassle

 

[Sampo]

Make sure you have all the relevant certificates for electric/ gas work that was carried out on the property. If it was DIY installations, although legal, it may raise further questions. My opinion would be to get in some professionals to evaluate and do the needful as it would definitely attract a higher cost and a wider range of interested parties. As mentioned above, do get in an estate agent for a free valuation (do check the fine print), to get a value assessed and some sort of budget for what the additional work could involve.

People wanting to do projects usually tend to negotiate the price down as they mostly have disposable funds around and will need to invest in time/ effort. If its 'ready to move in' you might find people with a mortgage but willing to pay higher prices. Just my view based on what I have seen. All the best.

 

[long_range_rob]

Unlikely. A private buyer will probably want to put their own stamp on it and a property developer will do the work themselves for much less than it would cost you. I would think it was a diminishing return unless you’re doing the labour yourself

 

[Pedro]

A bit of mild renovation could be good, assuming the kitchen and bathroom are reasonably up to par. A coat or two of neutral paint and presentable floors or floor coverings too. That may not increase the price too much, but the clean, blank canvass it presents will make selling it easier. Even for buyers that will do their own thing.

 

[Rasputin]

When I bought my house it was at £175k unfixed had a look thought was a bit too much of a job so oddly enough bought it after a developer had “sorted” it for £250k. Wish I had bought it untouched in hindsight but as I’m working full time and so is the missus was just a bit too much to take on and cash flow would have been tight.

 

[Fair Hill]

Buy some buckets of white and magnolia paint and paint all ceilings and any walls that need doing to freshen up the place. After that's done I'd be inclined to leave it as a blank canvas for anyone interested in buying in the area so they can put their personal touch to it. I would also if there are any manky carpets get rid of them and replace with a cheap neutral coloured one.

Sometimes one half of a couple can see beyond an initial shabby impression but the other half might not.

 

[User00035]

Unless you do a complete renovation and sell the house as walk-in ready, tinkering with bits and pieces will probably be a waste of time and cash. And even walk-in readies won't appeal to everyone. A lot of people will want to change something so they won't want to pay the top whack you'll need to justify doing the work. They're more likely to shell out for something with "exciting potential" that they can make their own or see a resale profit in. Doing bits and pieces won't increase the value or the saleability. As long as it's fully habitable and not dangerous in any way, shabby and dated shouldn't place retentions in the way of mortgaged buyers either.

Be guided by your estate agent, and get valuations from at least three of them, preferably more. It's amazing how widely they can vary. And consider selling at auction. It's nail-biting stuff but you could cash in big time in the present market. We did when we auctioned the family home last August. It made 20% (£121,000) above original valuation. Watching the sale can make you age ten years though.

 

[finnbear270]

Just gone through this with Dad's house, deal closes 2pm tomorrow, All electrical works needed inspection & certification, all gas appliances needed servicing & certification, Land searches , & anything arising from we had to deal with, sixteen weeks in all, (Trouble being, Our solicitors "Lost " the deeds & buyers wanted endless insurances over this that and the other).

 

[Bledd]

I don't think the electrics, by law, need inspection and certifying. Buyers will "ask" for it but it's not mandatory- by all means they can pay for a sparky to inspect at own cost. Some buyers/solicitors will ask for all sorts of assurances and certificates - my favourite was being asked to take out a one off policy for boiler cover just in case it broke down after I'd sold it! Politely told them to bugger off. Unless it's a deal-breaker, stand your ground

 

[finnbear270]

I don't think the electrics, by law, need inspection and certifying. Buyers will "ask" for it but it's not mandatory- by all means they can pay for a sparky to inspect at own cost. Some buyers/solicitors will ask for all sorts of assurances and certificates - my favourite was being asked to take out a one off policy for boiler cover just in case it broke down after I'd sold it! Politely told them to bugger off. Unless it's a deal-breaker, stand your ground

 

[bullet chucker]

To your question I say, YES'
The electrics need to be verified remember outside electrics and security lights, as said above, any appliances need to be verified' as safe or removed. We had endless letters of, has this and that been done and where is the certificate ect. If you get a sparky to sign it off, a heap of red tape can be rolled up and put in the drawer.
Neutral colours to brighten it up,same with floor coverings. A coat of paint will work wonders with your price and half the nit pickers trying to screw you over the value.

BC.

 

[Tim.243]

Gents,

My Mother in Law has gone into full time care so we now have to dispose of her house. Its a typical 70's detached house thats been home to two 90 year olds. Its sound, but shabby. My late FIL, thought of him self as a handyhand so he's done things like put in extra power scockets, wood paneling etc, but all that work was done a minimum of 20years ago.

So my question is.. Generaly does the panel think it makes financial sence to pay for a Sparky, decorator, and maybe other trades to come in before we put the house on the Market, or sell it as is as a project?

cheers

Martin

I have been in places working for a builder where the 20k oak kitchen was ripped out as the new owners other half wanted a new one...
Price it to sell, if there is no chain have a price you agree with the snake-agent and get it gone.

good luck

 

[finnbear270]

I have been in places working for a builder where the 20k oak kitchen was ripped out as the new owners other half wanted a new one...
Price it to sell, if there is no chain have a price you agree with the snake-agent and get it gone.

good luck

Never a true'r word Tim, The female of our species seems to take umbrage if you ask them to nest in another's creation, However recent it is in construction.

 

[Franchi Matt]

Buy some buckets of white and magnolia paint and paint all ceilings and any walls that need doing to freshen up the place. After that's done I'd be inclined to leave it as a blank canvas for anyone interested in buying in the area so they can put their personal touch to it. I would also if there are any manky carpets get rid of them and replace with a cheap neutral coloured one.

Sometimes one half of a couple can see beyond an initial shabby impression but the other half might not.

I second all of that

 

[opticron1]

The answer to that will come from an estate agent, whats it's worth as is, and whats it's worth done up

If the done up price is significantly higher to account for the cost, hassle and time delay involved in getting it on the market and out to potential buyers then spend money on it, if not get it on the market straight away with no hassle

Agree with the above.
Having just been through the whole palaver with my late Dad's house, we asked three Estate Agents to give us a quote and to suggest anything that could be done to improve the saleability...... all of them suggested putting it on the market as it was and said that any outgoings were unlikely to achieve a reasonable return and to let potential purchasers put their own mark on the house. All the quotes were within 10K of each other and the sale went smoothly (apart from the delays "due to Covid Sir"!).
As Finch suggested above - and if you're brave, try the Auction route, but I've seen folk come a cropper on that as well as a few doing really well......

 

[Phil fox man]

as a builder and property developer my advice would be sell as needing some up dating.at the moment if a house wants is worth say 250k but needs 25k spending on it to bring it up to standard you should get 225k easy of not more and no expenses out laid.

 

[Fadcode]

As Sir Ken Dodd used to say "as is", you can spend a fortune doing it up and not recover the costs, let the buyer do what he wants, keep the price high, and when they point out what needs doing, drop the price a bit to cover the cost.

 

[The Singing Stalker]

Property is at a premium at the moment so whatever happens it will sell quickly if priced right.
an estate agent will not necessarily give you good advice. He needs to get the property on the market quickly, if you do the house up so you get more, he will only get a percentage of the increase. So in the grand scheme of things, for him, it is not worth it.
All areas are worth a certain amount of money, no more, no less. So what is a silk liar property that has been done up worth? Subtract what the estate agent says it is worth and then you can work out if it is is worth the time and hassle. All decent trades people seem to be very busy now.

one final option to consider, bit of a curve ball. Don’t sell, rent. That will need money to get it to standard, but long term it is a considerable addition to a pension.

 

[Bo Diddley]

Unless you can do some of the work or have friends & family that can do the work for you at mates rates ( does that really exist ) sell it as a fixer-upper, the real value is added by increasing floor area with extensions. Materials & labour costs are high at the minute. It may sit a large plot that you could get planning for another house? or even push that over if it's detached and get 2 or 3 on the plot, but all this takes time and money to achieve, it's not for the faint-hearted. As The Singing Stalker said, renting is an option, in which case you will need an electrical test and epc certificate etc to comply with regulations surrounding Landlords... blasted red tape!